20 Years Old and couldn't wait to have this done - Toronto

I am 6 days post op from my labiaplasty and I...

20 Aug 2014

6 days post

I am 6 days post op from my labiaplasty and I would love to share with you all my experience!

So like many, many women out there, I had protruding inner labia and this caused me discomfort and shame. I'm 20 years old, and before you even think it...I'm not looking to achieve perfection, I'm not looking to emulate the porn stars' hairless, flawless muff...I got the procedure done mainly for the discomfort of the rubbing and pinching, and the embarrassment of having a bulge in my bathing suit and having to adjust myself in my clothes. BUT, aesthetics was definitely a huge plus in my mind and would help to look more youthful :)

I recommend waxing instead of shaving before surgery...
So the day of surgery, I was terrified. I was taken into the room (make sure you completely empty your bladder) and everything was set up. Dr Gerber drew with a marker on my labia where he was going to cut and showed me before he began.
**Side note: I feel the need to share (for your benefit) the parts to be cut off... At the very top of my vulva, where my clitoral hood connects with my inner labia (on both sides), there is an extra piece of tissue connected from the top on the outermost part of my labia creating a little type of concave well between my outer and inner labia.... (almost like my inner labia was split in half vertically only a quarter of the way down) And let me tell you how annoying and incredibly embarrassing it is that toilet paper would get stuck in there. Anyway, maybe there are some of you out there with the same problem... But he cut that off too!! And he cut just the protruding part of my labia vertically until it reached my vaginal opening where he stopped. So I guess he did the trim method. I meant to ask, but I didn't which I kind of regret asking for curiosity's sake.
Continuing. Everything was a go. He administered the local anesthetic, which honestly wasn't that bad...it felt like a pinch and was super uncomfortable especially around the clitoris area, but it was totally bearable! The rest of the surgery I didn't feel a thing. Dr Gerber kept up conversation, had me laughing (not too much, obviously) and before I knew it, it was over. I was given my topical antibiotics, told to wash 3 times a day and follow with vaseline over the area to keep it nice and moist. mm. Once I stood up, good lord, the anesthetic hit me. I have never been more high in my life. I don't remember getting in the car (obviously I did not drive, that would have been tragic) and I don't remember getting in bed either. But, I passed out cold. This felt wonderful at the time, considering I slept about 10 hours, but in hindsight, the initial time after the surgery was when I was supposed to ice to reduce the amount of swelling and I clearly failed to do so. Which I seriously regret. But I digress...

Day 1:
I woke up feeling ok. Until I got up...I took the painkiller I'd been prescribed (every 6 hours, as needed). Got up to go pee and oh my god, I was going to pass out. Not even from pain, but from nausea. I couldn't stand up longer than 30 seconds, and this might sound weird but once I started peeing I felt even more nauseas. I thought, ok nausea is normal after local anesthetic, it will go away.....

Day 2:
The nausea has NOT gone away, but only gotten worse. I dealt with it for another day (in hindsight, another bad decision). Aside from the nausea, my vulva is completely unrecognizable...I don't even know what's what. I'm horrified. It looks like my vagina went through a meat grinder. The stitches look harsh, and gory, and scary, and the swelling is outrageous. My clitoral hood has swollen completely over my clitoris...you can't even see it. There is no opening in my vagina at all, just a giant puffy mound. Lord help me...

Day 3:
Ok this is getting ridiculous. I woke up a sick, crying mess. My mom called Dr Gerber's office and they asked me to come in. I picked my sorry butt out of my bed, gingerly, and waddled down to the car. Let me tell you, you won't truly realize how bumpy the roads are until after you get a labiaplasty done. The wait time was wonderfully short at the office (which is out of the norm) and I was taken in. Dr Gerber checked me out, told me I'm healing very well, cleaned the area for me - which I was so thankful for, because I failed to do so since getting up was such a challenge. They took me off the painkillers and that solved the problem. Got home and back in bed, and everything was fine from then on. The only thing that seemed to be bothering me more than anything was restlessness. I've never been on bed rest before and I'm not taking to it well. My hips and legs are sore from staying in the same spot.

Day 4:
Sleeping sucks. Honestly. I sleep on my stomach or side, and that's not really manageable. I woke up every 3 hours it seems and then got up for good at 5:30am. I'm exhausted. This has been the norm for the past few days. I kind of seem to be able to sleep on my side for a couple hours with a pillow between my legs to keep my labia from touching, but that only lasts so long until I have to move back to my back. I'm grumpy. I'm super lonely. I just want to get up and be productive. I thought I'd be able to move around normally by now, but it still hurts to walk. Everything is still swollen down there. Especially my clitorial hood. However, the swelling towards my vaginal opening is starting to go down, it seems. Pain is still pretty prevalent. More so to the touch, than just general pain. My right labia is also WAY more swollen than my left side. Weird. Also, that "top part" I mentioned in my side note that he cut off...those hurt really bad and are the reason that I can't close my legs. Help me.

Day 5:
So today I'm getting my sutures removed. I'm terrified!! More for this than for the actual surgery. Dr Gerber applied a topical anesthetic and made me sit for 30 minutes before taking me back in. I discussed with him my concern over the fact that my right labia was much more swollen than my left, and he assured me it was fine and would go down in time. After the 30 mins, he made sure everything felt numb and warned me that there may be some discomfort. Well, he was right. Taking sutures out sucks. It's much better than I thought it would be, but still uncomfortable. But again, definitely bearable, so don't worry. Just breathe. He told me he'd see me in 3 weeks and sent me on my way. Walking is SO much easier without the sutures. Still painful and I still have to waddle, but definitely much easier.

Day 6:
Today is day 6. Last night I slept on my left side with a pillow between my legs instead of my right side because I thought maybe the swelling on the right side would go down. IT DID. Only a tiny bit, but it did go down, so success! I'm sooooo tired of sitting in bed. My life is just passing me by. The weather had been beautiful all weekend and I've been stuck here. I'm depressed. Even though everything is healing and looking better, I'm depressed and almost regretful. As if I just spent thousands of dollars to mutilate my body. My clitoral hood is still SO swollen and I'm scared it will never go down. I've read posts where women say it remained a bit swollen forever. I've cried a few times today.

On another note, I'm supposed to get my period tomorrow (which probably explains the horrible outlook on life today). I'm not allowed to use tampons so how the heck am I supposed to deal with my period. It's moderately heavy so what am I just supposed to sit in my bed for 5 more days wearing a friggen diaper? Am I at risk of infection? Cue panic attack.

How long until I can workout again? I'm going stir crazy. How long until I can use tampons again? How long until I can take baths or go swimming or wear tight pants? When can I shave down there again??

Ladies, in exchange for my experience, I am asking for your kind advice. Anyone who's been through this, tell me this is normal? Offer some tips. Help me feel like I have reason to hold out hope for this. Any advice would be sincerely appreciated.

To end this thread, I will continue to post updates throughout my recovery process. I want to assure those of you who are considering this process..don't be worried about what other people think about you having the surgery done. Get it done for only you. Don't expect a quick fix and to be healed in just a couple days - this process can apparently take MONTHS. Everyone heals at a different rate - something that I've tried to come to terms with during my slow process so far. And if you do decide to get this done, PRAY and don't stress out too hard. Everything will be ok if you choose a doctor who is knowledgeable and who you trust! Feel free to ask me any questions!

Day 16!

30 Aug 2014

16 days post

So it's DAY 16. Just over 2 weeks post op, woohoo! I'm pleased to announce that things have definitely been looking up since I lasted posted. Swelling has gone down tremendously, but I still can't find my clitoris in that swollen mess, as well as the right labia towards my vaginal opening is still a bit puffy (unless they somehow managed to become uneven despite being perfectly even pre surgery... who knows).
Everything is also still really tender, especially to the touch. Is that normal? I have to be very gentle still when washing, and I'm still unable to wipe like normal when using the washroom. I've been avoiding tight pants like the plague, and I find myself still walking funny at times...c'mon already. I find that it tends to be sore when I wake up in the mornings and feels better after I wash. Then towards the end of the day it begins to get a bit sore again.
I'm also concerned because on the right side of my labia, it looks like there's a gap...like it's not even connected to my clitorial hood anymore or something.... And then on the left side of my labia, there's a lump (I'm assuming from the stitches, but it looks gross). I'm hoping once all of the swelling goes down, this issue will resolve itself.
I go back to see Dr. Gerber for my 3 week follow up in about 2 weeks and I can't wait to hear what he says and to discuss my concerns with him.

Okay also, I am INCREDIBLY sexually frustrated. I know you're not supposed to have sex for a good while after surgery, so I don't plan on it, but it's not even like I can do anything myself either. Since my clitoris is MIA. Lord, give me strength. How much longer must I suffer? Hahah any ideas?

Day 25!

8 Sep 2014

25 days post

So not much has happened since my last update. The pain has gone down, I'm able to completely close my legs without discomfort now, and I've slowly started working out again.
I do have one huge concern though...I literally could not even find my clitoris if I tried. I've read lots about how the clitoral hood seems to take much longer for the swelling to go down, but I can't tell whether it's still even swollen anymore or if it's just going to stay that way forever. But I literally can't find it. One side of my labia is larger than the other (whether due to swelling or not, i'm not sure) and it has made my clitoral hood basically fold overtop of itself. It did this initially after the procedure, so I'm hoping it's still just swelling that has to go down and it will eventually even itself out. It does not look pretty. Is this normal? Please say this is normal, I'm literally horrified. I have my follow up with Dr. Gerber on Thursday, but I wanted to post this first.

Day 40...wow

23 Sep 2014

1 month post

Shout out to Eva G for reminding me to update!! So I saw Dr Gerber on the 11th and he said it looks "sexy"... Although I'm not quite there yet due to a few aesthetic concerns, it is a huuuuuge improvement from how it looked pre surgery. HUGE. I discussed with Dr Gerber my concerns about the bumps and he asked for me to come back in 3 months and he will remove them for free as well as smooth down the sides. He wants to come as close to perfect as possible and seemed very excited for me. He also said there's still a bit of swelling to go down. I'm generally pain free, however I still have to be gentle when I wipe and it seems to be a bit more tender when I menstruate.
We're gettin' there :)

Anyone Still Out There? 2nd Procedure Post-Op: Day 3

26 Apr 2015

8 months post

I had my initial follow up to check how healing was going was back in December, and I was supposed to receive a call DAYS later to book my 2nd procedure (they wanted to do that soon). I did not receive this call....I called multiple times for weeks with no answer and no return of my messages. This is how I somehow managed to have my procedure done in April...4 MONTHS after my consultation for the 2nd procedure.
Because of this, I asked that we go over what we planned to have done to my labia because I was unsure what we said and where he was taking off bits. The left side of my labia is much larger than my right side after the first procedure, and when I spoke to him about this, he said that this would require 2nd payment.
I am honestly disappointed by this. The reason being is that he took MUCH more off than we discussed on the right side. Almost as if there is a chunk missing. There is a significant difference between my left and right labia (much more than there was prior to surgery). The left side looks full and healthy and the right looks sad. I had hoped to take off a bit more of the left side to balance it out, without completely decimating my labia, but I cannot afford it. I just hope that, in the long run, it really doesn't look as strange as I feel it does. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful because I am much more confident than I was before surgery, I'm just a bit disappointed that he managed to take so much off one side (ugh here I am rambling)

So, sob story aside, I had my follow up procedure to smooth out the bumps on Thursday and things went well.
This procedure was a little more uncomfortable, as I don't think the area was numbed enough prior to. I was able to stay conscious this time around on the ride home and had a horrible night's sleep.
Unfortunately, I got a jolly old visit from Aunt Flow the following day (she came very, very late. damn her) It has not been very pleasant being on my period with giant swollen labia, but I'm somehow managing it.
Walking is definitely much easier the second time around, however I still walk like I've been riding a bull...Which brings me to my dilemma of having to conquer the TTC (public transit, for those of you who aren't from around here) tomorrow to have my stitches removed, and walking to and from another appointment in the city. Hopefully it's not too busy and no one will mind me walking, literally, slower than a turtle.

I've been a bit on the depressed side about this lately. I just pray that everything turns out well.

Dr David Gerber

Kind, compassionate, knowledgeable. Puts you at ease. I'd never been to a gyno before and he could tell...He helped me relax and feel less embarrassed. Treated me as if I were his own daughter, which was also very helpful. Gentle.
Also his nurse Cecile is a godsend. She held my hand while I received the local anesthetic and is just a positive light to be around.